Here is a note from one of our teachers in the Fang Shan English Camp:

I've realized that taking care of the first graders is a hybrid job between a teacher and a hired entertainer. They're like little balls of energy whose attention spans ricochet from one thing to another. I've had so much fun with this pinball game.


When the class started off, I was sure that both the students and I were doomed to many classes full of awkward silences and blank stares. Entering the class on the first day were seven girls between the ages of six and eight with bright faces and a huge language barrier between us. Interacting with me, or more accurately interacting with my translator, they were softspoken and of little words. They had trouble pronouncing each others' English names so we ended up doing an updated version of London Bridges so that they could learn each others' names. The children were screaming and laughing and loved this game and although the language barrier was still between us, the wall of cold politeness and strangerhood broke down.


The children love to draw and play games. So much to the point of demanding that everything we did was a game, be it Fruit Basket, the Swatter Game, or charades. Lessons were incorporated with activities to drill the English into their minds and still have their focus. Where fun is, the children will swarm, even when educational. I'm still learning the ropes and testing my flexibility and patience with them, but they are are inevitably growing on me. I hope to love them with all my heart and learn from them as they learn from me. Anna C.